The stage at Woodside's Hilltop Lounge looks like a set straight out of "Twin Peaks". Red Velvet curtain and a single red-light lamp to bathe all would-be karaoke crooners in a sultry, mysterious, cigarette-smoke-tinted glow.

On the other side of the horseshoe-shaped bar, regulars fill the stools and loudly swap stories, talk football and down blue-collar domestic beers and the conversation gets more animated and louder as the hours creep by.

A fella in a black cowboy hat is lip-locked with a woman at a corner of the bar, oblivious to the commotion, noise and celebration going on all around them, including the warble of a young man taking on Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" on the karaoke stage.

Woodsie's Hilltop Lounge isn't known as the "Best Bar for a Romantic Date,'' or the "Best Bar for Live Music" or "Best Bar With a View."

No, the reputation and motto at the longtime westside watering hole is "Best Fun Bar." It's a reputation Woodsie's Hilltop Lounge has earned since owners Stan and Melissa Woods took over the Hilltop nearly 20 years ago.

Woodsie's Hilltop Lounge on Mobile Highway is a favorite with locals.(Photo11: Jody Link)

"Just listen,'' said Melissa Woods, a longtime beach bartender who, together with her husband, became the third owners of the Hilltop Lounge in the late 1990s. "Just listen to all the laughter."

The vibe is festive, yet casual. Blue jeans are the predominate fashion statement, along with an assortment of cowboy and NASCAR hats. Most of the crowd that comes to the Hilltop is local - about 80 percent Melissa Wood said.

And even though the bar is a local favorite and often filled on Saturday nights, she said her and her husband would love to see more new faces in the westside club.

"We've been defending the westside for so long,'' Melissa Woods said. "We love it over here, but this area gets a bad rap a lot of the time. But it's just good, hard-working people who love to have fun. We'd love to see more new faces in here. We want them to find out what a lot of people already know."

Stan Woods is a former contractor. It's his wife who talked him into purchasing the Hilltop, and completely refurbishing the always-popular club.

"It's a lot more fun,'' he said of his former profession.

The club is known for regular karaoke nights and frequent Texas Hold'em poker games. It's a place where the two pool tables are almost always full. It's also a place of design contradictions.

Bar stools sure. But there's also a dentist chair - right next to the large print of Van Gogh's "The Night Cafe" underneath a television showing football and round bar table with NASCAR advertisement.

Dentist chair. Football. Van Gogh. NASCAR. It's an eclectic mix of style and personalities that permeate Woodsie's Hilltop Lounge these days. (Heavy cigarette smoke also permeates the club. So if you can't handle cigarette smoke, the Hilltop might not be the place for you.)

"You've got to come to the Hilltop of you're a local,'' said Dan Renfroe, a nearby Bellview resident who visits the Hilltop once a month or so. "It's been here for so long because people love it. You come once, you're going to want to come back again."

Woodsie's Hilltop Lounge and Package Store is located at 5204 Mobile Highway. It is open from noon until 2:30 a.m. seven days a week.